very dark purple, with a very good nose of napa dark fruits, followed by similar flavors plus bubble gum, vanilla and french oak. very concentrated, but simple right out of the bottle. very elegant mouthfeel; good acidity and only a few, small tannins. given a few hours in the decanter, this opened up quite nicely, with lots of spice and better fruit definition and complexity. doesn't have the structure to be a long-term ager, but clearly will benefit from 2-3 years in the cellar or two-plus hours in the decanter. 90 points and not at all a good value at the $60 i paid at an overpriced gourmet grocer ($50 seems a more representative price).